A One-Sided Affair
by queenofowls
Summary: A student oversteps his bounds. Byleth has no choice to put him in his place, regardless of what her heart whispers on the matter. [Dedue/f!Byleth] Cover Art by: @tsuyuus [Twitter]


_Tap, tap._

Byleth sits at the desk in her residence. At the sound of the door, she lifts an eyebrow but speaks aloud.

"Yes?"

"Professor. I need to speak with you." Byleth places down her quill onto the table, trying not to feel confused. Of all the students to approach her, Dedue is not one who comes often. In fact, she'd noticed that he was more prone to staring from a far with grim eyes than anything else. Sometimes, she finds herself wondering what is behind those deep green eyes, exactly...

But she tries not to dwell too much as it is.

He's just a student, she tells himself. Regardless of the fact that a mere three years separate them, Seteth's words haunt her like a curse.

_"I trust that in this position, you will behave appropriately."_

Appropriately. And that means letting him maintain his safe distance, no matter how curious or drawn she feels to the man of Duscur. It means nothing more than a courteous nod when she opens her doors for the morning and meets the eyes of the owner of the neighboring room.

So... how strange it is that he seeks her out.

"...Professor?"

Oh, yes. He is outside of her door, isn't he. She opens her doors wide and leaves them there to be seen by passers-by. _There_, she thinks. _How's that for being perfectly appropriate, Seteth?_

"Welcome to my... office." She isn't sure if it really qualifies as an office, but she shrugs to herself. It has a desk, so it'll do. "Can I help you?" Dedue stares at the professor.

"I wanted to talk about last month's assignment. When we fought the bandits in Faerghus."

Byleth gathers her hand to her chin. The bandits? It was hardly a notable assignment. The only thing notable in fact-ah. That was where she'd gotten that nasty arrow in her thigh. She nods for him to continue, touching her thigh unconsciously as a ghosting pain makes it ache from the memory alone. His eyes follow, his grimace deepening.

"Why did you take an arrow for His Highness?"

Byleth lifts her brow in reply. In fact, she almost thinks to dismiss him entirely, but something... perhaps the favor she feels for him, however slight, beckons her to reply. "Like you, he is my responsibility."

"No," Dedue interrupts, his voice stiff. "He is _my_ responsibility. You needn't put yourself in harm's way when I am already sworn as his Highness' shield."

...Right. Now she will dismiss him.

She nods. "Alright, then. I needn't put myself in harm's way for Dimitri. Instead, I'll allow you to die a needless death at the hands of bandits." Byleth cups her face, leaning into her own hand. "Is that what you wish for me to say?"

Instead of replying, Dedue stares at the professor with an unreadable expression. "...No."

_Too bad._ Byleth shrugs, then turns away. She starts to attend to her work, but Dedue still hovers in the doorway, his lips pressed together. She glances at him.

"Anything else?"

Dedue opens his mouth, then closes it in frustration. "Professor..." He takes a deep breath. "Listen. The students of our class... they may not know how much, but they need His Highness because he is intended to be the next king of Faerghus."

"I know. That's why I can't allow anything to happen to him."

"But they need you as well. All of the students need you, Professor." Byleth tilts her head. Is this really Dedue wants to say? Is he implying that he... needs her too?

She can't figure another reason for him to be staring at her petulantly like this.

"Dedue, are you telling me you'd like for me to be careful?"

He crosses his arms, nodding firmly. "Yes." Byleth stares at him flatly. All this to tell her to be careful? Even her own father didn't waste time with such things. He'd impressed upon her the importance of getting healed, taking the necessary steps to get out when she saw she had to... so who was this student to come and interrupt her peace and quiet like this? To leave her fighting thoughts she shouldn't have to fight? To lecture her on... on safety?

Her eyebrows furrow, lips tilting incrementally downwards. "Thank you for your concern."

She thinks that he is finished this time, but to her surprise, she feels a large hand, right on top of her head. Not only _on_ it, but lifting gently and touching down again, stroking the crown of her head evenly. She almost doesn't believe it's happening. _Dedue_, of all students, is patting her on the head with a solemn expression as though this is not a _serious_ breach of personal space.

"Be careful out there, Professor. His Highness would be most saddened if you were no longer there to direct us on the battlefield.." He pulls away and clears his throat, his face refusing to betray his usual stoicism, even though Byleth would die to know what he's thinking. He takes a step back, then bows low. "Professor, I... He... no, ah... perhaps it would be best to say... all of us in Blue Lion House would... greatly miss your direction. Miss you, even, if you were to fall in battle."

The professor stares up at him with wide eyes. Regardless of the list of pronouns he's just uttered, she fixates on the first one, piecing together the sentence he's tried his best not to say. 'I... would greatly miss... you.'

She forces herself to frown, setting her lips in the straight line. It does not matter what he means by it. Seteth-no, the Archbishop Rhea herself has given her a responsibility, and she had no choice but to abide by it. Byleth eyes Dedue, her tone stiff, brows drawn.

"Dedue, regardless of your concerns-" _and_, she thinks to herself, _how pleased I am that you have them for me_, "-I have a job to perform. I need you and every student of Blue Lion House to be ready for anything thrown at them." She stands suddenly and walks towards her door. Dedue backs away unconsciously, driven by her seeming anger. "If you have any concerns, it should be regarding whether or not you're ready for the certification exams I have planned for you this weekend." She stands at her doorway, her displeasure forcing Dedue out of her room. "Now, if that's all-"

She shuts the door between them, not missing the flush on Dedue's cheeks as she does so.

Slumping into her seat, she covers her face and wonders what she should be feeling. She wishes she were older, like Manuela or Hanneman. More experienced, even. Maybe then, Dedue would've respected her enough to not just...

Not just touch her without permission.

She dwells on the feeling of his hand on her head and imagines for a moment that she too is a fellow member of the Blue Lion House. Would it be a problem then, to indulge in her attraction? "..." The answer is an obvious 'no', but it hardly matters.

Regardless of what life would be like if she were a student, that is not her reality. He _is_ a student-her student-and she cannot think of him any other way. Sighing, she turns back towards her lesson plan with a grimace, her face unexpectedly warm. She hates the sensation. She'd grown up amongst mercenaries, persons who could be a decidedly bawdy bunch if they wanted to be. It made no sense for her to be brought to... to blushing by some _man_ she'd known for mere months.

She thinks of Dedue's height, his large hands and broad shoulders, his-Byleth quickly shakes her head. Not a man. A student! He is her student. She thinks of the words she's just spoken. Her students... are her responsibility.

Byleth grimaces. She loves being a professor, loves teaching the students of her house more than even she expected-and she refuses to let anything endanger that. Not even the strange incomprehensible feelings starting to stir deeply in her chest.


End file.
